Pleasanton painting the town red — and other colors

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A utility box painted by artist Irma Grant is photographed in downtown Pleasanton, Calif., on Thursday, June 11, 2015. The utility box is part of the "Project Paintbox." This is the second round of the project which involves seven area artists painting seven utility boxes in the downtown area. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

A utility box painted by artist Irma Grant is photographed in downtown Pleasanton, Calif., on Thursday, June 11, 2015. The utility box is part of the "Project Paintbox." This is the second round of the project which involves seven area artists painting seven utility boxes in the downtown area. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Artist Chinar Desai, of Pleasanton, paints part of a large utility box as part of the "Project Paintbox" in downtown Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, June 5, 2015. This is the second round of the project which involves seven area artists painting 7 utility boxes in the downtown area. Desai's utility box paining is titled "P-Town- 'Me' Town." (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Artist Chinar Desai, of Pleasanton, paints a utility box as part of the "Project Paintbox" in downtown Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, June 5, 2015. This is the second round of the project which involves seven area artists painting 7 utility boxes in the downtown area. Desai's utility box paining is titled "P-Town- 'Me' Town." (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Artist Chinar Desai, of Pleasanton, paints a utility box as part of the "Project Paintbox" in downtown Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, June 5, 2015. This is the second round of the project which involves seven area artists painting 7 utility boxes in the downtown area. Desai's utility box paining is titled "P-Town- 'Me' Town." (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

PLEASANTON — A handful of mundane utility boxes downtown are about to be recreated as colorful public art depicting life in Pleasanton.

City Council members this month approved plans for Phase II of Project Paint Box, which will feature seven brightly colored murals to be painted on traffic utility boxes over the course of the next few weeks. The artists range from high school students to professional artists.

“This project is on a small scale, but because of its size, it’s an opportunity for more artists to participate,” said Michele Crose, Pleasanton’s community services manager. “This isn’t a $200 million sculpture; it’s a small-scale three-dimensional sculpture, and many artists feel they can take it on.”

The project began in spring of 2014, when members of the city’s Civic Arts Commission became interested in the utility box project and requested area artists to submit designs that illustrate Pleasanton’s flora, fauna, historic past and cultural identity. Three boxes were initially approved and are nearing completion. For Phase II, the city’s Public Art Selection Committee reviewed 15 designs, eight of which were selected by the commission. Seven of those designs have been approved, with an additional design pending. Artists receive $750 each from the Art Acquisition Fund, although Crose hopes to encourage business or community members to sponsor a box for $500.

The project aims to beautify the dowdy-looking traffic boxes located at several spots in and near the downtown. Similar projects have been undertaken in Livermore and Hayward, with Walnut Creek opting to cover the boxes with a vinyl wrap rather than paint, Crose said.

“Before the art is applied, the boxes can be boring and potentially unsightly,” she said. “(Civic Arts Commission members) liked the fact that there was color and art being brought to the city in a different way. We don’t have a great deal of graffiti, but the fact that these boxes can also help deter that is also a selling point.”

Artist Irma Grant, of Pleasanton, painted a mural of children at play at Neal and First streets during the project’s first phase. Similar works are catching on worldwide and serve to beautify a small space many people don’t even perceive, she said.

“The interesting part is that when I was working, some neighbors would walk by with their dogs and say they didn’t even realize the box was there,” she said with a laugh. “We visited New Zealand over Christmas, and we saw these painted boxes in large cities there, and they have them in Canada as well.”

Chinar Desai, a Pleasanton architectural designer and art instructor, is in the process of completing her Phase I work in front of the Oasis Grill at the intersection of Main and St. John streets. It depicts the many layers of Pleasanton — sky, hills, housing, schools, businesses and public space.

“The biggest challenge is that the box is right in the middle of the sidewalk and everybody who goes by wants to talk about it,” she said. “Most are very supportive, and many older people tell me stories about Pleasanton.”

Tatiana Salvator, also a Phase I artist, turned a box at First and Ray streets into a mural featuring street scenes of Pleasanton.

“The city of Pleasanton is a great community;” she said. “It was a very good experience, with parents coming by with kids, and the kids would ask questions, and people would thank me for what I was doing. Sometimes they’d ask if they could be on my box and ask who the people shown on the box are. I love it.”

These small works of public art have social value beyond their humble canvas, said Grant.

“I wanted to keep it multicultural,” she said. “I’ve been an immigrant more than once. I feel Pleasanton and the whole Bay Area are changing, and we need to reflect that around us.

“I love art, and I think it should be accessible to everybody,” she added. “I’m hoping more people will come forward and say ‘Yes, this is something I like having in my town,’ and that people will realize that yeah, this is art, too.”

TO SPONSOR
Businesses or community members wishing to sponsor one of Pleasanton’s 3-D murals for $500 may contact Pleasanton Community Services Manager Michele Crose at 925-931-5347 or at mcrose@ciofpleasantonca.gov.